All 99 legislatures in the House of Representative and all 33 Senators should now be aware of the Coalition to Ban Ohio Dog Auctions. So today, or this weekend, or this week, please take a few moments of your day to remind Senators to support the ban of Ohio Dog Auctions.

The atrocities continue while we wait…

On January 27, more than 118,000 signatures from all 88 Ohio counties were certified by Secretary of State, Jon Husted for the Ohio Dog Auctions Act. The proposed law is now in Ohio General Assembly for passage by May 1 — so the Senators have three months. We still desperately need, however, the ballot initiative to move through the 129th Ohio General Assembly.

Go to the bottom left where it says “Find Your Senator” and fill in your information. You can then send an email to them quite easily. All you have to say is:

“My name is xxxx from xxxx County. I consider you an esteemed public official; and I’m writing with great news!On January 27, more than 118,000 signatures from all 88 Ohio counties were certified by Secretary of State, Jon Husted for the Ohio Dog Auctions Act. The proposed law has now moved to the Ohio General Assembly for passage by May 1.

I am respectfully asking your support in moving this ballot initiative through the 129th Ohio General Assembly.

Thank you for serving as a strong voice for Ohio’s companion animals!

Sincerely,”

And that’s your email.

The Ohio Dog Auctions Act is a measure with many a mission; it will improve the lives of dogs in commercial breeding operations in Ohio; it will make it illegal for anyone to auction or raffle a dog in Ohio; finally, it will prohibit others from bringing dogs into the state for sale or trade that were acquired by auction or raffle elsewhere. These are just a few of the things the 2011 statute requires.

But to give you some more information on dog auctions in Ohio and how they support puppy mills – here are some facts:

* Listed below are the buyers at dog auctions.

Many breeders have websites, sell over the internet or a use a broker.

1. Class A license breeders sell puppies/dogs they breed and raise. Sales tax must be collected if puppies/dogs stay in Ohio. Class A breeders are not required to have a USDA license. They are not regulated.

2. Class B license breeders must hold a USDA license, are exempt from sales tax and cannot sell retail. Sales tax is collected and stays in the state the retail transaction takes place. A kennel cannot hold both an A and B USDA kennel license.

The auctions serve as a major distribution channel for buyers and sellers from 15 states including Ohio Many of these buyers and sellers have a long history of repeated violations of the Animal Welfare Act and/or have been convicted of animal cruelty.